Process modelling can be used to provide a comprehensive understanding of business
activities and functions and thence a base for detailed process analysis. Business process
improvement refers to a family of approaches which aim to help an organisation adjust its
processes to fit a dynamic or complex business environment, particularly so as to take
advantage of rapid advances in information technologies. However, most business process
improvement methodologies do not make significant use of process modelling to guide the
evaluation and improvement of business processes. The current research uses process
modelling techniques in a systematic and generalisable manner to gain deeper
understanding of processes in a particular complex case. By analysis and further probing of
the process models, it then seeks to develop a practical methodology for business
improvement which will be applicable not only in the case in question but also more
broadly.
The case explored in detail in this work is the process of Cancer Care and Registration
(CCR) in Jordan. This is introduced after a discussion of business processes in general,
business processes in healthcare, and methods of business process modelling. There is some
comparative treatment of CCR processes in the UK. The main method used for modelling
existing processes in the Jordanian CCR case is Role Activity Diagramming (RAD).
Models for six major sub-processes were prepared. The models thus produced were
validated in discussion with participants. They were then subjected to an extensive analysis,
with the objective of discovering whether the processes might be improved. One form of
analysis examined the structural properties of the models, to discover for instance how
closely coupled different roles were. A second, model-led, form of analysis methodically
queried, through interview or questionnaire, each activity or interaction in the models, to
see how well it was working, in its particular context, in terms of general criteria such as
efficiency or reliability. Thirdly, the notion of non-functional requirements (NFRs),
borrowed from software engineering, was used to derive detailed NFRs from high-level
business objectives, as a basis for a systematic examination of broad quality levels achieved
in existing processes. These complementary analyses, supported by further validation with
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participants, then provided the base for a remodelling of the processes with the goal of
business improvement. The redesign suggestions included indications of where information
technology might be introduced or strengthened with beneficial effect.
The methods of detailed modelling, systematic analysis, and redesign for business
improvement are, while thoroughly applied to the case under investigation, sufficiently
abstract to be proposed as a general methodology for the design of business process
improvements. The key features of the methodology are that it is grounded in process
modelling and brings together functional, non-functional and structural process analyses.